SC to CMs: Resolve Cauvery water row

Nov 27, 2012, 12.04AM ISTTNN[ Dhananjay Mahapatra ]

The Supreme Court on Monday requested the chief ministers of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to hold talks along with experts to find an amicable solution to the vexed dispute over sharing of Cauvery river water which lands up before the top court year after year.

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday requested the chief ministers of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to hold talks along with experts to find an amicable solution to the vexed dispute over sharing of Cauvery river water which lands up before the top court year after year.

A bench of Justices D K Jain and Madan B Lokur did not issue any direction to the states but kept the matter for further hearing on Friday to know the feasibility and time schedule for a possible meeting between the two CMs.

The bench said resolution of the issue needed free and frank discussions between the chief ministers in a congenial atmosphere with a give and take approach without getting bogged down by inhibitions, apprehensions or attempting to protract the meeting aimed at finding out "who should blink first".

The bench said the issue had been agitated before the court and the Cauvery River Authority for years without any permanent solution. "A lasting solution could come not from court orders or CRA directions but from one found amicably by the two states," it said.

Appearing for Tamil Nadu, senior advocate C S Vaidyanathan said he had to seek instructions from the state on the court's suggestion. Though senior advocate Fali S Nariman said he too had no instruction from Karnataka, he would urge the CM to agree to the meeting.

"This is a very good suggestion from the court that the chief ministers must meet meaningfully to break the ice and remove the bottlenecks. I will assure the court that Karnataka chief minister will agree for a meeting with his Tamil Nadu counterpart on the issue," he said.

The bench said, "The CMs must meet in a congenial atmosphere to subserve the larger interests of farmers in their states. It must not be a meeting just for the sake of it but a meaningful dialogue assisted by experts from both sides."

When Vaidyanathan said there was a huge shortfall in the release of Cauvery waters by upper riparian Karnataka and alleged that Tamil Nadu farmers were staring at the possible failure of the second crop, the bench said if the chief ministers did not make an attempt to find a solution to this problem, it would continue to be one application after the other from both states without anyone moving closer to a permanent solution.

Vaidyanathan accused the Centre of shrugging off its responsibility in finding a permanent solution to the dispute. But the bench said, "It is best that the state chief ministers talk and find a solution. We cannot be asking the Cauvery River Authority headed by the prime minister to meet often."